Don't be so negative!

Do you consider yourself a pessimist?  Or maybe you've been labeled as such, therefore hearing that phrase many times through out your life.  Well... I'm here to tell you the opposite actually.  It's OKAY to be negative.

I remember the first time I heard the term negative space, I thought "what could be so negative about space?" My art teacher explained that it was the area not drawn/painted/printed. She wanted us to learn the power of the blank space you leave around an image - and so made us draw an object by drawing only the shapes of the negative space.

Ever since then I have been fascinated by negative space. I like art that leaves the eye with a place to rest and the depth the design can convey when the canvas isn't completely saturated. The same can hold true when creating a scrapbook page.

Supplies: Paper: Pink Paislee, Cardstock: Bazzill Basics, Flowers: Kaisercraft, Die cut and Journaling Spot: My Minds Eye, Stickers: 7 Gypsies, Ribbon: Offray, Buttons: Bo Bunny Press, Bling: Kaisercraft, Tools: Electronic Cutter: Silhouette SD

You can go quite literal when working with negative (or white) space by using a white cardstock background and grouping all your embellishments together like I did in the layout above.

Or you can use a patterned paper as your background but allow it to be your negative space by drawing all the focus to your photo and embellishments like the layout below.

Supplies: Paper, letter stickers, ribbon, felt, brads: American Crafts, Cardstock: Bazzill Basics, Flowers: Kaisercraft, Buttons: Nikki Sivils Scrapbooker

Are you a card maker?

Supplies:  Paper: Pink Paislee, Cardstock: Bazzill Basics, Letter stickers: American Crafts, Flowers: Prima Marketing, Other: Sewing Machine

You can still allow the negative space to shine through. If you are someone who needs to fill in the whole page, this will definitely be a challenge for you but try it out!  I'm sure you will learn over time, like I have, the beauty and power of using that negative space in it's full glory!  If you get a chance to create something using this wonderful element of design, leave a link in the comments so I can come oooh and aaaah.

hugs,
Melissa